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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Wagner - Die Walküre (DVD)
Robert Gambill (Siegmund), Mikhail Petrenko (Hunding), Willard White (Wotan), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Sieglinde), Eva Johansson (Brünnhilde), Lilli Paasikivi (Fricka), Joanna Porackova (Gerhilde), Elaine McKrill (Ortlinde), Julianne Young (Waltraute), Andrea Baker (Schwertleite), Erika Sunnegårdh (Helmwige), Heike Grötzinger (Siegrune), Eva Vogel (Grimgerde) & Annette Bod (Rossweisse) Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle (conductor) & Stéphane Braunschweig (director) In a career spanning more than 30 years, Sir Simon Rattle has distinguished himself through his long-term relationships with a number of orchestras, wide-ranging repertoire and innovative educational and audiencebuilding activities. He is currently Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Berliner Philharmoniker and Principal Artist with the OAE. Sir Simon first conducted the Berlin Philharmonic in 1987 and appeared regularly with the orchestra in subsequent years.The summer of 2006 saw the first instalment of their Wagner Ring Cycle at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. Sir Simon's most recent appearance at the Proms in Wagner brought forth ecstatic reviews, which bodes well for possible future installments of the Aix /Salzburg Ring on Bel Air Classiques. "In what is both Mr. Rattle's and Aix's first Ring Cycle, "Die Walküre," the Ring's second chapter, was magically transformed by the enclosed space and lively acoustics of the Grand Théâtre de Provence. But where the new theater makes another significant difference is in Mr. Braunschweig's staging of the opera. Far more than in last year's "Rheingold," even the gods, notably Wotan and his twin children, Siegmund and Sieglinde, can now be felt to experience deeply human emotions. The final curtain brought a standing ovation for both orchestra and singers, with Ms.Westbroek singled out for her "extraordinary power and lyricism," as Jean-Louis Validire, Le Figaro's music critic, put it… The Ring Cycle continues here with "Siegfried" in 2008 and "Götterdammerüng" in 2009 and, as with "Das Rheingold" and "Die Walküre," they will be presented afresh at the Salzburg Easter Festival the following year." The New York Times, July 5, 2007 | 
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Angela Denoke, Jon Villars, Alan Held, Laszlo Polgar, Juliane Banse, Rainer Trost & Thomas Quasthoff Arnold Schoenberg Chor & Berliner Philharmoniker, Simon Rattle Ludwig van Beethoven attempted to compose a number of works for the stage but only one opera was completed and that took three versions to reach its definitive form. The first had its premiere in November 1805, was entitled Leonore and was in three acts (with overture Leonore No. 2); the second in March 1806 was still entitled Leonore but now in two acts (with overture Leonore No. 3). The final version did not appear for eight years by which time he had also written another overture – entitled Leonore No. 1. This version had the new and final title and the overture Fidelio. Throughout his life Beethoven had sought to compose music which would praise freedom, valour and the brotherhood of mankind and the story of a wife’s bravery in seeking out her husband in a tyrant’s jail gives full rein to his musical genius. Sir Simon Rattle conducted the new production at Glyndebourne in 2001 and then recorded the work in Berlin with his orchestra and a first rate list of soloists in April 2003. |
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Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, Rolando Panerai, Elizabeth Harwood, Nicolai Ghiaurov & Gianni Maffeo Schoneberger Sangerknaben, Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin & Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan Mark the Puccini 150th anniversary in style! This deluxe hardcover Limited Edition of what many regard as one of the very finest recordings of Puccini's perennial masterpiece ever committed to disc stars Mirella Freni and Luciano Pavarotti as Mimi and Rodolfo in a newly remastered 96/24 transfer which offers unprecedented clarity and faithfulness to the original recording. A special feature of this edition is the inclusion of a 20-minute bonus disc in which Mirella Freni discusses Puccini and working with Herbert von Karajan. A full four-language libretto and synopsis is included and there is also a special technical note by James Lock (one of the Decca engineers involved in the original recording). |
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| |  | Karajan - New Years Eve Concert 1978A film by Vojtech Jasny
Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan Recording Place & Date: Philharmonie Berlin, 31.12.1978 For the 1978 New Year's Eve concert with the Berlin Philharmonic, Karajan put together a program of exclusively popular classical works Following Verdi's Overture to "La forza del destino" are the two major works of the program, Bizet's Arlésienne Suite No. 2 and Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 The Hungarian March, or "Rákóczy March," from Berlioz's "La damnation de Faust" never fails to rouse listeners with its dazzling instrumentation. The program closes with the Intermezzo from Mascagni's "L'amico Fritz" and the ever-popular Overture to "Leichte Kavallerie" by Franz von Suppé. The present recording superbly illustrates that the orchestra was also able to "let go" and enjoy a rollicking time with Suppé or a Lisztian Hungarian Rhapsody Additional footage: 60 min. portrait “Impressions about Herbert von Karajan”, featuring Karajan the man and conductor, produced for his 70th birthday. This film by Vojtech Jasny from 1978 shows maestro Karajan not only as a conductor and artist but also as teacher, father, pilot, sailor during his holidays in St.Tropez and gives many professional insights and private impressions. In 5.1 DTS Surround Sound. Total Playing Time: 53 min. + 60 min. (Portrait) |
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| |  | Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique
Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle Having championed Russian and German repertoire in their first three releases of 2008, Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker turned to French music for their latest CD, specifically the Symphonie fantastique and La mort de Cléopâtre by Hector Berlioz. The Grammy-Award winning mezzo-soprano Susan Graham is featured in La mort de Cléopâtre. Not long ago, Rattle said of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s sound: "It's like an enormous heat source that comes at you, and you feel as though you can burn in it." The orchestra bring the intensity Rattle describes directly to bear on Berlioz’s work, undaunted by the fire in late May 2008 at Berlin’s Philharmonie that resulted in a last minute change of date and venue to Berlin’s Jesus Christ Kirche for the recording of this album. “Rattle and the Berliners are capable of taking one’s breath away” Gramophone Magazine “inspired by Simon Rattle,[the Berlin Philharmonic] give a superb performance of the symphony. Too little is made of the bass drum’s important part in the finale - but in every other respect the playing is exemplary, with the strings really singing their music and the wind matching them with equal force. Rattle, while achieving exceptionally wide dynamic range, shapes the work with a sure hand.” Sunday Times, 14th September 2008 **** “This must be one of the most beautifully played performances of the Symphonie fantastique on disc. Textures have been honed, everything points to an almost obsessive search for perfection, and Simon Rattle has his players paying attention to every last detail of expression and articulation in the score.” The Telegraph, 6th September 2008 “Berlioz blended opera with symphonic form in this blazing outburst of passion, vividly realised by this wonderful ensemble.” Anthony Holden, The Observer, 31st August 2008 “Rattle, displays the easy lyricism one might anticipate, but more power and atmosphere - Berlioz grandioso. Cléopâtre is also a big-screen performance. Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, today's reigning Dido, makes Berlioz's earlier heroine equally epic… it's a welcome coupling.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2008 **** |
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Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle |
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| |  | Mirella Freni - Un Bel diPuccini Scenes & Arias
CD 1 Madama Butterfly - Act 1 [1] Viene la sera 7:34 [2] Vogliatemi bene 7:54 Act 2 [3] Un bel dì vedremo 4:33 [4] Suzuki? Suzuki? Dove sei? 1:56 [5] Tu, Suzuki, che sei tanto buona 5:45 [6] Come una mosca prigioniera 2:43 [7] Con onor muore 5:34 Turandot - Act 3 [8] Tu che di gel sei cinta 2:52 Tosca - Act 1 [9] Mario! Mario! Mario! 13:18 Act 2 [10] Vissi d’arte 4:34 Act 3 [11] Ah! Franchigia a Floria Tosca 2:37 [12] O dolci mani 7:47 [13] Come è lunga l’attesa 2:29 [14] Presto, su! Mario! Mario! 1:40 CD 2 La Bohème - Act 1 [1] Che gelida manina 4:38 [2] Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì 6:00 [3] O soave fanciulla 4:12 Act 3 [4] Donde lieta uscì al tuo grido 3:22 [5] Dunque è proprio finita! 6:08 Act 4 [6] Sono andati? Fingevo di dormire 5:59 [7] Che avvien? 6:02 Il Trittico Il tabarro [8] Ho sognato una casetta 6:51 Suor Angelica [9] Tutto ho offerto alla Vergine 5:40 [10] Senza mamma, o bimbo, tu sei morto 4:39 Gianni Schicchi [11] O mio babbino caro 2:06 Manon Lescaut - Act 2 [12] Dispetosetto questo riccio! 5:53 [13] In quelle trine morbide 2:31 [14] Poiché tu vuoi saper 3:09 Act 4 [15] Sola perduta, abbandonata 4:46 [16] Fra le tue braccia amore 7:40
Mirella Freni (soprano) with Luciano Pavarotti (tenor) Wiener Philharmoniker / Herbert von Karajan (Madama Butterfly) Philharmonia Orchestra / Giuseppe Sinopoli (Turandot) National Philharmonic Orchestra / Nicola Rescigno (Tosca) Berliner Philharmoniker / Herbert von Karajan (La Bohème) Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino / Brono Bartoletti (Il Trittico) Metropolitan Opera Orchestra / James Levine (Manon Lescaut) A generously-filled 2-CD set of many of Puccini's most famous soprano arias and scenes sung by one of the greatest Puccini interpreters, the incomparable Mirella Freni. Taken from Mirella Freni's legendary Decca recordings of complete operas and also starring Luciano Pavarotti this is the ideal Puccini compilation for the composer's anniversary year “This outstanding collection demonstrates, as few singers can, the combination of voice and personality needed to take on Puccini's heroines.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2008 ***** |
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| |  | Hindemith - Symphonia Serena
Tabea Zimmermann Berliner Philharmoniker, Philharmonia Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra & Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Herbert von Karajan, Paul Hindemith, Eugene Ormandy & David Shallon |
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| |  | Simon Rattle conducts StravinskyRecorded Live in September 2007
Berliner Philharmoniker & Rundfunkchor Berlin, Sir Simon Rattle The album comprises three of the five works by Stravinsky which contain the word ‘symphony’ in their titles, including the Symphony in C which Sir Simon has never before performed and which the BPO haven’t played for over 20 years. “As one might expect from these forces, the asceticism of neo-Classical Stravinsky plays second fiddle to the orchestra's natural plushness. But while the textures sound a little weightier than we are used to, Simon Rattle's mastery in orchestral balancing ensures that nothing is compromised.
There is some delectable playing here, especially from the woodwind in the Bachian counterpoint at the heart of the Symphony of Psalms, where the Berlin Radio Chorus also excels. And the richness of sound does nothing to dampen the rhythmic vitality that is at the heart of the two purely instrumental works” Matthew Rye, Daily Telegraph, 28th June 2008 “Rattle's performances, all taken from concerts in Berlin's Philharmonie, are as energised and impeccably played as one would expect, with the woodwind contributions a particular delight. Predictably, it's the last of the trilogy, the stark Symphony in Three Movements from 1946, that makes the biggest impression, with Rattle channelling its energy and athleticism uncompromisingly. Yet all three works have a litheness and confidence, a perfect balance between the sections, and, in the Symphony of Psalms, between the orchestra and the superbly groomed choir, that give the music a transparent, "classical" feel. Rattle's performance of the Symphony of Psalms gets the balance between celebratory exuberance and liturgical grandeur exactly right, releasing the energy of the finale in a controlled display of orchestral virtuosity.” The Guardian, 20th June 2008 **** “Rattle gives [the woodwind] Mozartian prominence above the transparent strings, and this is music to which the British conductor brings a special empathy. In the Psalm settings, the Rundfunkchor Berlin, now under Simon Halsey, give exemplary accounts of their music. These are luxury interpretations in every sense, sumptuously recorded.” Sunday Times, 15th June 2008 **** “The real highlight of this CD is Rattle's pressing but never impatient account of what in my view is Stravinsky's greatest symphony, the terse and poignant Symphony in C… Stravinsky himself is faster and lighter… but Rattle gives us both urgency and tonal body. Henceforth, his is a digital front-runner.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2008 “The slow movements of both the Symphony in Three Movements and the Symphony in C are beautifully done.” BBC Music Magazine, Proms 2008 *** |
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Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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